Apple Pie
by KiaraShell
Summary: An unexpected emergency forces Winry to work even on her birthday. Nevertheless, Edward asks their young daughter Nina to help him make the day equally special.


**A/N: Hello! I got the idea for this short fanfiction while on a train ride to university. I hope you'll enjoy it! ****My native language is Italian, but I try to write in English both to try to improve my skills and to share my works with as many people as possible. There might be some grammar mistakes! I apologize in advance. **

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**\- Apple Pie - **

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Amestris, Resembool - 1933

She hadn't noticed him approaching, focused as she was on diligently placing the cleaned wrenches and screwdrivers back into their boxes as her mother had asked her.

That's why when Edward dropped the basket full of red apples right in front of her, Nina cried out in terror.

«Dad!? You scared me!», she reprimanded him, fixing her deep blue eyes on his face. He raised his hands in defense.

«I'm sorry! What are you doing here?», he asked her, taking a look around the room. Edward knew Winry's workshop was one of their daughter's favorite places to stay. A fully equipped laboratory, specifically designed to host the work of one of the most renowned automail engineers of the whole nation, was more than appealing to a young aspiring professional, but he couldn't quite grasp why Nina would seclude herself in that unavoidably dusty and greasy place on such a nice, sunny Sunday afternoon.

«Mom asked me to tidy the toolboxes up while she's out», Nina explained turning her attention back to the dozens of tools spread on the desk.

«Ah! I see», Edward said, patting affectionately her back. «It's a pity mom has to work even on her birthday, isn't it?»

«Yeah», Nina agreed, while putting a couple of screws into their case, «but Mr. Miller was quite desperate. He said he couldn't bear the pain anymore so she said she would check on his arm right away».

«Getting your nervous system used to communicate with a metal limb can be painful», Edward commented.

«I guess so», the young girl said smiling sympathetically at him. «So anyway, what about the apples?», she asked pointing at the basket still resting on the desk.

«Oh yes, about that…», Edward stuttered as a fair blush covered his cheeks. «You know, mom is not going to return until tonight and since it's her birthday I thought I could, well… _bake an apple pie _for when she'll be back home».

Nina couldn't believe her own ears. To think her dad would come up with such a nice and sweet gift. A wide smile bent her lips.

«Really?!», she asked. Edward nodded, raising a hand to scratch the back of his head. «It's a wonderful idea! Mom's going to love it!», Nina exclaimed clapping her hands.

«Yeah, yeah!», Edward chuckled nervously. «But I'll need your help». Nina stopped clapping her hands and cast at him a questioning look.

«You've never baked an apple pie, haven't you?», she asked putting her hands on her hips.

«Not even once», Edward confessed grinning. Nina sighed, shaking her head. She glanced at the toolboxes resting on the desk, then her eyes focused on the basket full of round, red apples. She grabbed it and headed straight toward the door.

«Alright, let's go!», she said cheerfully. Edward followed her smiling tenderly.

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«Flour 315 g, salt one teaspoon, butter one and a half sticks, water as needed. And for the filling of course apples, at least 1 kg, sugar 150 g, flour two tablespoons, cinnamon one teaspoon, nutmeg, half lemon juice, one beaten egg», Nina instructed tying her blonde hair in a high ponytail. Edward moved clumsily between the kitchen counter and the cupboard to gather all the ingredients under the watchful eye of his daughter.

«Alright!», the girl exclaimed once all the necessary items were assembled on the counter. She grabbed an apron and tossed it to her father, while she opened the middle drawer of the cupboard to collect a couple of bowls, some forks, knives and cups. Edward grabbed the apron and cast a skeptical look at his daughter.

«Do I have to?», he asked her, glancing at the frilly pink garment. Nina rolled her eyes.

«Believe me, you'll need it», she told him chuckling.

Nina placed the medium-sized bowl on the counter as Edward grumbling wore the pink apron.

«We are ready to start! Put the flour and salt into the bowl. You can use the fork to mix them», Nina instructed. Edward did as he was told. Mixing flour and salt wasn't that much of an effort. He could handle the first step, he thought.

«Good. Time to add in cubed butter! Use the fork to break it up into the flour», Nina suggested. Edward grabbed the butter and dropped it into the bowl. Then he started using the fork to try to divide the stick into smaller pieces. The task was more difficult than expected. The butter kept sticking to the fork and instead of smaller cubes he ended up with a shapeless lump.

«I guess this is not how it's supposed to be done», Edward commented looking at the bowl.

«Not really», Nina confirmed trying not to chuckle at her father's clumsiness. She got closer to him and grabbed a fork from the counter. «I'll help you», she offered, starting to divide the butter into smaller lumps.

«It's working!», Edward exclaimed.

«Yep! You need to use the fork in this way, see? Or you won't be able to do much», she told him.

Edward watched as Nina continued using the fork to divide the butter until it was equally distributed into the flour.

«Next step?», he asked once she put the fork down on the counter.

«We can add water and continue to mix until the dough starts to come together», Nina instructed.

«Understood», Edward said grabbing the jug that he had filled with ice water and starting pouring it into the bowl. He worked the dough together with his hands, being very careful not to leave any lumps. He looked so focused on the task Nina couldn't hold back an amused chuckle. Edward raised his gaze on her.

«What's so funny?»

«Relax, Dad! It's just a pie! You look so serious» she laughed. Edward smiled teasingly.

«So that's it. Making fun of me, huh?». He grabbed a handful of flour and threw it right to Nina's face. The girl stopped laughing immediately and started complaining, much to Edward's amusement. Nina glared at him so intensely he recognized in her blu eyes his wife's most dangerous gaze. For a second he feared a wrench would have soon struck his head, when a fistful of flour hit in full his face.

«Nina, what the hell?!», he protested wiping his eyes using the sleeve of his shirt, as the girl smiled triumphantly.

«You asked for it!», she replied crossing her arms.

«What on earth are you two doing here?»

Both Edward and Nina quickly forgot their friendly quarrel when he suddenly appeared at the kitchen door. Thomas observed in silence the rather baffling scene in front of him. His father and sister were standing behind the kitchen counter, probably trying to bake something and judging from the flour on their faces and their bickering, things weren't going smoothly.

«What-»

«Dad wants to bake an apple pie for mom. Since it's her birthday and she's going be out all day long it'll be a wonderful surprise when she'll be back home!», Nina answered him without even letting him finish the question. Thomas looked at her skeptically, noticing only then the basket full of red apples still resting on the counter.

«Really?», he asked his father looking at him with wide, questioning golden eyes.

«Well, yeah…», Edward told his son, as a fair blush colored his cheeks.

«Geez… I'd never thought you could come up with something like that. That's cheesy!», Thomas said grinning.

«Thomas! That's not cheesy at all! It's so sweet of him!», Nina scolded him, hugging her father.

«Whatever!», Thomas said grabbing a chair and sitting at the other side of the counter. «That apron suits you well, Dad!», the boy commented teasingly.

«Very funny», Edward retorted with narrow eyes.

«C'mon Dad, we're wasting time!», Nina said shooting a glare at her brother. «Put the dough out onto the counter's surface and form a ball. Brother, make yourself useful and pass me the cling wrap!». Thomas rolled his eyes and did as he was told. The girl used the plastic film to cover the dough and then asked her father to put it into the fridge.

«Time to peel the apples!», Nina announced handing a knife to Edward. Thomas watched amused resting comfortably against the chair back as his father struggled to peel, core and slice the apples Nina was passing him. She was a perfectionist and managed to find a flaw in everything he did, much to Thomas entertainment. Even the young boy though couldn't help but notice that his father wasn't really doing a good job with those apples. At Nina's umpteenth remark, Thomas stood up and joined them behind the counter.

«Seriously, Dad, you're torturing these poor apples», he said grabbing a knife from the counter. «They're not going to cook properly if the slices are this thick. You'll have to make them thinner», he explained grabbing an apple to start slicing it. Edward watched in surprise as his son masterfully completed the task without effort.

«You guys are both good at this», he said patting proudly his children backs.

«When the teacher is someone as good as mom that's only natural», Nina told him grabbing an apple from the basket and tossing it to him.

«I guess so», Edward agreed, starting peeling the apple, while Thomas kept slicing.

«So anyway, why did you decide to gift mom with an apple pie?», Nina asked her father, grabbing another apple from the basket.

«Your mom used to bake an apple pie whenever your uncle Al and I came back home from our travels around the nation. It was a nice and warm way to welcome us. Since she'll be out all day, I thought it would be nice to return the favor after all these years», he told them smiling tenderly.

«I knew there was something cheesy behind this», Thomas commented sticking out his tongue.

«Cut it out Thomas, this is so sweet!», Nina exclaimed turning around the counter to turn on the oven.

«Apple pie meant home. And we missed home. We were constantly traveling, but knowing Winry and granny Pinako were there waiting for us to come back gave us the strength to continue our journey», Edward told them, coring another apple.

«If you missed mom that much, why didn't you bring her with you?», Nina asked him, gathering the sliced apples and putting them into a clean bowl. Edward shot her a serious look.

«We weren't having fun. We faced all sorts of problems and enemies. It was dangerous. Your mom was already involved more than I'd wanted to», he added.

«Speaking of which», Thomas suddenly interjected, «You never really tell us much about your early adventures with uncle Al». Nina glanced at her father. His golden eyes clouded over.

«I'll tell you everything when you'll be old enough and ready to listen to the whole story». Both children snorted looking at him in annoyance.

«You always give us the same answer», Thomas told him shaking his head. «At my age, you were an already renowned State Alchemist».

«Not to mention», Nina added, «that when you were even younger than me, you had already attempted human transmutation».

«Alright, that's enough!», Edward exclaimed putting down the knife he was still holding. Nina and Thomas exchanged a worried look, then moved their gazes back to their father's face. «You know the rules. You will know everything, eventually. When the right moment comes, I will tell you everything. But until then, asking questions is useless and you know it», he stated looking at them.

Edward and Winry had agreed on being honest with their children and tell them the truth little by little as they grew older. Thomas and Nina already knew about Edward and Alphonse's failed attempt to bring Trisha back with human transmutation, but had no idea of the existence of the _homunculi_, of their so-called Father and his horrible plan to sacrifice the whole Nation to accomplish his greater purpose.

Thomas and Nina lowered their heads, feeling guilty for ruining the cheerful mood.

«I know. I'm sorry», Thomas told him.

«I'm sorry too», Nina added.

Edward sighed, rubbing a hand on his face.

«I'm not mad at you, alright? Don't worry», he finally said smiling, hoping to lift his children's mood. «I can't be that threatening while I'm wearing this thing anyway…», he added tugging at his pink apron. Thomas and Nina exchanged a questioning look, then burst out laughing. Edward soon joined them. When the laughter faded away, the mood was as cheerful as ever.

«So… what's the next move», Edward asked pointing at the sliced apples in the bowl.

Nina quickly regained control of the situation and ordered her father to mix the sliced apples with sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice. Meanwhile, Thomas collected the pie dough and cut it in half. The young girl asked the two men to roll out both halves as she gathered a pie dish, on which she later carefully unroll one half of the dough. Edward was in charge of carefully pouring the apple filling mixture and Thomas rolled the other half of the dough on top. Nina made sure the edges were sealed together, then cut four slits on the top of the pie.

«Brush the pie with the beaten egg and sprinkle it with sugar!», she instructed eventually, getting closer to the oven to check the temperature.

«All done!», Edward told her putting down the bag of sugar.

«Good, the oven's ready».

Edward took the apple pie and put it into the oven.

The three spent the next few minutes tidying and cleaning the kitchen, happily chatting and teasing each other.

«Dad, can you please go and fetch me a towel? It's still in the laundry room», Nina asked suddenly, holding in her hands the bowls she had just washed.

«Right away ma'am», Edward answered, happy to finally have the chance to take off the pink apron. He left the kitchen, but before heading down the corridor, he turned around to look at his children as they continued to chat, unaware of their father's presence.

«Would you have ever expected something so mushy from Dad?», Thomas asked washing a knife.

«He can be such a softie. Mom's going to love it», Nina answered smiling.

«Do you think the pie will be good?», the young boy added.

«It'll be delicious», his sister said, «I know mom's recipe by heart».

Edward smiled tenderly.

In moments like that he felt overwhelmed by gratitude for his family. He was thankful that his children got to live peacefully, surrounded by people who loved them and that they knew by heart the recipe of the apple pie, while he, a mere 11-year-old boy, had had to learn the chemical composition of a human body.

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**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this short story. **

**Don't be shy and let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always appreciated! **

**Bye:)**

**\- Kiara **


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